Chapter 106
Flames were everywhere and the deafening roar of killing was like a huge net, carrying with it the sound of a dense wind that invaded through the gaps between the trees, making it hard to breathe.
The female family members were all in a panic and their cries were deafening. Seeing that Hulukou could not be defended any longer, the manager of Yanque Lake personally led the way with a lantern in hand. The female family members went in groups, escorted by the maids and servants of each family, to Xiangshan Temple on the mountain to hold the position and wait for help.
In Xie Yunchu's academy, there were four or five girls from ordinary families. Their families could not enter the Yanque Garden today, so they followed her and went up the mountain in a group.
The fourth wife in front was furious and kept cursing.
"Why did I join in the fun? Why didn't I just stay in the house? I had to go out of the city for some fresh air. Now I can't go back..." He choked up as he spoke.
The mountain road was steep and rugged, and the night was dark. The fourth wife had never suffered such hardship in her pampered life. Fortunately, her son Wang Shuye was by her side to support her, so she didn't have to exert much effort. Wang Shuye was in the wrong. If it weren't for him, his mother would not have left the city today. So he just let his mother complain without talking back.
Compared to the Fourth Wife, the one who complained the most was the First Wife. If the Fourth Wife had not insisted on dragging her along, there would be no need for her to wade into this muddy water today. However, the First Wife was of a mild and cowardly nature, and she endured the complaints without saying a word.
People were shoulder to shoulder and looking at each other along the way.
By the time all the female members of the family moved to the main hall of Xiangshan Temple and sat down, it was already the first quarter of the night.
Arriving here, the anxious hearts of people are slightly settled.
The troops left by the Bingmasi and the princess slowly withdrew their defense line and guarded the left and right sides of the Xiangshan Temple gate. Behind them, there was a group of monks forming the second line of defense. In addition, the guards and servants of each family were squatting in front of the main hall, ready to reinforce at any time.
The main hall is tall and wide, and can accommodate a lot of people. Some pilgrims who did not leave in time and ordinary officials and their wives sat around the Buddha statue, while the wives of important officials in the court went to the side hall inside.
Led by the steward, the ladies sat down in an orderly manner. When they looked up, they saw familiar faces. Everyone looked disheveled and exhausted. They all smiled bitterly at each other.
The wife of Zheng Ge Lao sat next to the fourth wife and Madam Ming, while Xie Yunchu sat next to several friends in the academy. Most of the people in the hall were talking about today's incident.
The fourth wife chatted for a while, then looked around and saw that her son was nowhere to be found. Her tone suddenly became tense.
"Where's Ye'er?"
At this time, the old woman guarding the door poked her head in and replied, "Sixth Master has gone to inquire about the news and will be back soon."
After a while, Wang Shuye came in from outside the hall. Everyone looked at him and asked, "What happened?"
Wang Shuye's face was heavy, "Prince Xin secretly returned to the capital from the front line with the intention of rebellion."
The officials' wives were immediately in an uproar.
"How is that possible? Where are the imperial guards in the capital?"
"Prince Xin was able to enter the city smoothly, so there must be an insider."
"Who is the traitor?"
Wang Shuye shook his head.
There was fear on everyone's face.
"Then why did he capture us? Can he win by capturing women and children like us?"
At this time, Xie Yunchu smiled bitterly and said, "As long as we control our official families, we can intimidate the court officials and force those officials in our family to bow their heads."
"I see."
"So, Prince Xin won't kill us?" As long as they can save their lives, the fear in their hearts will fade away a little.
If Prince Xin won, he would naturally send the women back home happily and comfort them. If he lost, it would be hard to say.
Xie Yunchu's impression of Prince Xin was that he was strong and tough, and quite scheming. When she was young, a beggar saw her beauty and wanted to tease her, but Prince Xin broke his hand. He must be cruel and ruthless. If he failed, it was not impossible that he would take the women as a vent. In order to appease everyone, Xie Yunchu said, "He probably won't kill anyone."
Everyone was relieved.
Some of them come with children, while some are alone and can't help but worry about them.
Jiang Fan's eyes turned red first. "What should I do with my two little ones at home? I don't know how they are doing?"
Xie Yunchu naturally missed his children, but he was glad that he did not take them out. The house was heavily guarded, and with the Duke and the Third Madam in charge, there should be no problem.
Wang Yining sent the two children to the palace before coming. She was relieved about the children. "If Prince Xin really wants to ascend the throne, he will not harm anyone. The palace is safer than here. It can be seen that today's flower viewing banquet was also a premeditated plan."
Thinking back to when the Yao family had just encountered trouble, Prince Xin was still in the temple to comfort her. Now the situation has changed and they are fighting against each other. Wang Yining sighed in her heart, "I don't know how my mother is doing?"
Chen Yi took over the conversation, "Just now my guards went quietly to the foot of the mountain, and from the tone of the refugees, it seems that His Highness has already returned to the city."
Wang Yining let out a long sigh.
Wang Shuyi and Wang Shuya were sitting together. When Wang Shuqin was nowhere to be seen, he asked Wang Shuya,
"Where's the second sister?"
Wang Shuya replied dejectedly, "Three female students were unwell at Shenshi, and my second sister took them back to the city."
Wang Shuyi was quite envious, "Second sister is lucky, unlike us who are trapped here."
Wang Shuya shook her head, "Who knows? What if the city is in chaos? I hope my second sister can return to the palace safely."
There was a constant buzzing sound in the hall, but Xie Yunchu remained silent and worried. What happened today was very different from what happened in his previous life. If this was the case, could Wang Shuhuai still win in the end?
After working all day and night, everyone was tired and ordered the servants to go to the dining hall to get some food.
After barely filling my stomach, I heard the sound of killing getting louder at the bottom of the mountain, and it seemed like someone was shouting,
"Oh no! The refugees are coming in from the west gate."
"Quick, get some servants to block the west corner gate!"
Everyone in the hall was suddenly in a state of panic. Some children were crying, and some timid girls were sobbing.
"What if the refugees come to kill us?"
“Will there be killing, injury and looting?”
"Shall we find a way to escape?"
“Wuwuwu…”
Outside the hall, cries of grief rose and fell, gradually merging into one.
Although no one was crying in the side hall, the atmosphere was extremely solemn.
Seeing that everyone was silent, Xiao Youran suddenly started joking.
"I was thinking, if I died here, my wife would be so happy that she would be waiting to pick a gentle and lovely second wife immediately."
Jiang Fan glared at her. "Look at what you said, you are so discouraged. Master Zhu is not that kind of person. He might have heard that we are trapped and is thinking of ways to rescue us."
Prince Xin rebelled, the city gates were closed and no one could get out.
Jiang Fan was just trying to comfort people.
Chen Yi thought of the tall and majestic man in his family, feeling quite sad.
"Speaking of my taciturn son, if I really died, I don't know what he would do. He doesn't say a word during the day, but he clings to me at night. Sometimes I don't know if he has me in his heart."
Jiang Fan turned around and comforted her, "Don't talk nonsense. Men with reserved personalities are more loyal and righteous. For example, General Li from your family and Minister Wang from Yunchu's family are both like this."
When Xie Yunchu heard this, a faint bitter smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
In his previous life, Wang Shuhuai remarried very early.
At this time, the voice of a warrior monk came in from outside the window.
"So many people came suddenly, and the temple didn't have enough food. Brother Konggui just secretly went down the back mountain and went to the canal port along the river at the foot of the back mountain. The water gate was closed and the boats couldn't enter. They all fled to Tongzhou..."
When Xie Yunchu heard this, some ideas flashed through his mind.
Oh, and she has a boat.
Rather than waiting for death, it is better to find a way out yourself.
She then quietly left the inner hall and came to the corridor behind the main hall. Looking around, she saw that the temple was brightly lit, people were moving about, and there was a commotion everywhere.
The ones who followed her out of the house today were Chunqi and Xia An, as well as two female guards and two secret guards. When they saw her coming out, the secret guards also dropped down from the beams, and the six of them stood in front of her in unison.
"What do you want, Madam?"
Xie Yunchu's eyes moved between the two secret guards, "Which of you two can swim?"
The two tall secret guards looked at each other, and the thinner one spoke, "I grew up by the river when I was young, and I am a good swimmer."
Xie Yunchu nodded, "Okay, you take Xia An down from the back mountain and take the boat to Caohe. We'll stop a few cargo ships on the canal between Caohe and Tongzhou. Xia An knows that Manager Xia. You guys find a way to get the boat to the back mountain and we'll leave from there."
The secret guard hesitated.
Xie Yunchu knew that he was worried about his safety, "Don't worry, Prince Xin has no intention of harming the women for the time being. As long as the mountain gate is guarded, I will be fine. You can go quickly and come back soon."
The secret guard no longer hesitated and took Xia An away. Xia An was still a little worried. She walked a few steps and looked back at Xie Yunchu reluctantly, "Miss, I haven't left you yet. You must be well and wait for me to come back."
Xie Yunchu glared at her, "I'm fine here, but you have to be careful on the road, understand?"
Xia An was entrusted with an important task and dared not hesitate. He wiped away his tears and followed the secret guard to the back mountain.
Xie Yunchu went back to the inner hall. As soon as he stepped over the threshold, he saw an elegant woman in dark purple gauze standing in the hall. She was supported by a maid and was looking for a seat. The hall was already overcrowded and there was no empty brocade stool at all.
Xie Yunchu recognized her at a glance from behind. She was silent for a moment, then she walked over and spoke from behind the person.
"Please sit here." She pointed to her seat.
When Qiao Zhiyun heard her voice, she turned around abruptly and looked at Xie Yunchu's calm face. Her eyes suddenly felt sour for a moment, "Chu'er."
Now all the women in the hall looked over here, and then looked at the two men's extremely similar faces. Suddenly they understood something, and they looked at the Fourth Madam and Madam Ming inquiringly. The Fourth Madam gave a bitter smile, and Madam Ming shook her head, signaling everyone not to say anything.
Xie Yunchu ignored everyone's surprised looks and asked her calmly, "Why didn't I see you at Yanque Lake just now?"
Qiao Zhiyun showed a gentle smile, "I came late, and went for a walk in the depths of Yanque Lake. When I came back, you had already gone up the mountain, so I followed you." At this time, an old woman from the Jiang family found a brocade stool from outside, and Jiang Fan and others squeezed out a place on the side. In this way, Xie Yunchu and Qiao Zhiyun were moved to one place.
Xie Yunchu was still thinking about the canal boat. Qiao Zhiyun leaned slightly towards her, her eyes reluctant to move away from her cheek. Xie Yunchu noticed and tried to divert the embarrassment, "Is Lord Jiang in the city?"
Qiao Zhiyun shook her head. "I returned to Jinling half a month ago. I was going to leave, but my child got asthma, and only Doctor Fan could treat it, so I stayed in the capital."
I'm talking about Xie Yunchu's half-brother.
Xie Yunchu was not interested in her housework. He stopped talking and turned his head to talk to Jiang Fan beside him.
Qiao Zhiyun looked at her with a complicated expression and said nothing more.
The eldest princess rushed back to the palace through the alley at three quarters after the evening.
When they came out of the secret passage, Chao Yun helped her tidy up her appearance and used a comb to wrap her messy hair into a hairpin. She could vaguely see some snow-white hair among them. Her eyes suddenly turned red. The princess heard her sobbing and turned her head to look at her. Her solemn eyes remained calm. "Don't be afraid."
There were obvious sounds of weapons coming from outside the city gate, and fires were suddenly blazing in all directions. The situation was not optimistic. Even though Chao Yun had experienced countless storms with the princess, he rarely felt a little panic in his heart today.
She met the eldest princess's resolute eyes and smiled, "As long as Your Highness is here, I'm not afraid."
The secret passage on both sides of the alley leads directly to the Danxi Temple below the Fengtian Palace. The eldest princess came out of the Danxi Temple secret passage and looked up at the majestic and magnificent Fengtian Palace above. The Fengtian Palace was brightly lit, like a fairy palace on earth. Although she had been going in and out of this palace since she was a child, she still felt a strong desire in her heart whenever she saw it. The eldest princess took a deep breath, and with the support of Chaoyun and Luo Lin's arm, she strode up the stairs.
The original plan was to poison and frame Prince Xin, and force all officials and the emperor to make the fifth prince the crown prince. But now that Prince Xin has rebelled ahead of time, this plan is no longer meaningful.
The soldiers on duty upstairs saw a person walking down the stairs below. She was wearing a crimson jacket with long sleeves and a front opening that was embroidered with a white bird and a golden phoenix. A simple white jade hairpin was inserted in her bun. She was wearing no ornaments and had a quiet look on her face. Who else could it be but the eldest princess? They hurried down to greet her.
"Greetings, Princess."
Before leaving the palace today, the eldest princess made some arrangements, and the guards staying in Fengtian Palace today are all her people.
The princess continued to walk up and asked, "How is His Majesty?"
The Lieutenant General replied, "Your Majesty is unconscious..."
"Your Majesty is unconscious, and the court officials should enter the palace to serve him. Where is he?"
The General of the Household smiled bitterly, "Your Majesty is critically ill. We followed your order to seal off the Fengtian Hall and sent people to the front court to deliver the news. As a result, several ministers of the cabinet went to the government office area in the south today. We were going to go out of the palace to summon them, but unexpectedly, we received the news that Prince Xin was attacking the city. All the captains of the city gates closed the palace gates, and the people inside could not go out, and the court officials outside could not come in. Only Qi Xiaohe, the Minister of Revenue, who was on duty in the Meridian Gate, came with the Minister of Works and others..."
The princess paused. In the past, when the emperor was critically ill, the prime ministers would rush into the palace to serve him in order to gain a place in the new dynasty. However, the behavior of these court officials today was a little unusual.
She has set up the trap, but if the officials don't fall into it, then there will be trouble.
He quickly climbed the steps and crossed the threshold of Fengtian Hall. Qi Xiaohe and others saluted.
"Your Highness is finally back. We were very worried. Now that His Majesty is critically ill, we found out that it is related to the Queen. We sent someone to bring the Queen to Fengtian Palace and locked her up in the next room..."
The princess had no interest in listening to this, and instead asked, "Where are the cabinet chief minister Chen Xuanqing and the left censor Miao Mingfeng?"
Minister of Revenue Qi Xiaohe frowned, "Lord Chen is nowhere to be found, and Lord Miao is at home on sick leave."
The princess had a bad feeling in her heart, "Who is on duty in the government office area?"
At this time, the Zhonglang Jiang outside the door replied, "Today, Gao Zhan, the deputy commander of the Yulin Guard, is on duty."
The princess thought about it, and went to the imperial study to write a handwritten letter in the name of the emperor and gave it to Chaoyun.
“You go to the government office area and tell Gao Zhan that His Majesty is critically ill and ask him to escort all the civil and military officials into the palace.” By holding all the officials in his hands, he can use his power to deal with Prince Xin.
Chao Yun took the imperial edict with both hands and turned to leave the Fengtian Hall.
After she left, the princess went into the inner hall and took a look at the unconscious emperor, then looked at the queen who was being guarded by the guards, and sneered, "The queen dared to have an affair with Prince Xin and besieged the officials and their wives. You, the queen mother, have done a really great job."
The queen sat under the screen, her face grim. "What about you? How good are you? You poisoned your own brother and put the blame on me. You are so vicious!"
Although the queen was imprisoned, she remained calm and composed. The two of them were at loggerheads with each other and neither of them was willing to give in.
The princess had no intention of getting entangled with the prisoner, so she walked out of the inner hall.
Just at this moment, Chao Yun ran back with her skirt lifted up in panic.
"Your Highness, this is bad."
When the princess saw her coming back, her heart sank. "What happened?"
"Prince Xin has already invaded the imperial city."
The vein on the princess' forehead jumped. "How is it possible? How did he get into the palace?"
Chao Yun's pretty face turned red with anxiety, and she replied breathlessly,
"Prince Xin led an army of 10,000 soldiers to the city. On the one hand, he claimed that he had returned to the capital to accept the title of Crown Prince. On the other hand, he said that you were shot and killed by the rebels in the eastern suburbs. He stirred up the people and promised a huge reward to the captain guarding the city. The captain opened the west gate and let Prince Xin into the capital."
The capital city consists of the Outer City and the Inner Imperial City, and millions of people live between the Outer City and the Inner Imperial City.
"That's not a big deal. What's a big deal is that when Prince Xin entered Guocheng, the Duke of Zhenguo brought several soldiers to see him through the Donghua Gate. They said they had discovered Prince Xin's rebellion and came back to Beijing to report the news. When the Duke of Zhenguo left Beijing, His Majesty gave him a tiger talisman. The captain checked the talisman and let him in."
The palace gates were closed at 10 p.m. and opened at 11 a.m. every day, and no one was allowed to enter or leave. However, whenever there were important matters in the court, officials could bring documents and ask for an audience through the side gate under the Donghua Gate.
"Unexpectedly, as soon as the palace gate was opened, the soldiers disguised as officials behind the Duke of Zhenguo rushed in and killed the captain of the city gate. Then the soldiers lurking near the Lantern Market took the opportunity to rush into the Donghua Gate. Now Prince Xin has personally led his troops to attack the imperial city, and the cabinet chief Chen Xuanqing followed him into the palace. It seems that old man Chen Xuanqing secretly defected to Prince Xin."
The eldest princess shook when she heard this, and she could no longer maintain the calmness on her face.
"How could the Duke of Zhenguo rebel? There are tens of thousands of civil and military officials, anyone could rebel, except him..."
Although the Queen's sister is the deceased wife of the Duke of Zhenguo, this nepotism is not enough to make the Duke of Zhenguo sacrifice the future of the Manchu people. The Duke of Zhenguo has always been loyal to the emperor, so how could he be easily bribed by Prince Xin this time?
It's incredible.
There was no time to think about it at the moment. The princess immediately summoned the guards of Fengtian Palace and ordered them to close the four palace gates of Fengtian Palace and organize a battle.
Even if Prince Xin broke into the imperial city, the walls surrounding the Fengtian Palace were high and impregnable, and there were still 5,000 elite soldiers in the palace, enough to fight back.
But she had to wait for help if she wanted to hold on, and the only ones who could help her were Gao Zhan and Duke Wang He.
The princess immediately ordered Chao Yun and two female guards to quietly leave the palace through the alley to deliver the letter to Gao Zhan and Wang He.
She believed that Wang He would never want to see Prince Xin succeed.
The night is endless.
Countless eaves in the palace stretched towards the sky like the tentacles of a black beast. The sound of gongs rang, and the hour of midnight had arrived. Fires illuminated most of the sky. The imperial city was filled with murderous aura. The Left Guard of the Yulin Army and the Right Guard of the Huben Army were well-rested and defeated wave after wave of attacks by the border troops.
Thousands of soldiers gathered on Danxi Bridge between Wumen and Fengtianmen. The two sides fought fiercely, and it was difficult to tell the winner for a while.
Half an hour later, Prince Xin's reinforcements arrived with baggage carts, and the border troops threw fireballs one after another into the palace gate from the baggage carts. The flames were immediately picked up by the strong wind and exploded in mid-air. There were cries of pain inside the Fengtian Gate, and the soldiers were blown to pieces. It was like hell on earth.
Prince Xin, dressed in a black robe, stood on the tower of the Meridian Gate with his hands behind his back. On his left stood the chief minister of the cabinet, Chen Xuanqing, and on his right stood Lin Xiyue. The three of them looked in the direction of the Fengtian Hall. Chen Xuanqing was the head of all officials. All they had to do was defeat the princess and then use Chen Xuanqing and the trapped female relatives to persuade all officials to submit. It would be almost foolproof.
Seeing that the great cause was about to be accomplished, Prince Xin's tension was stretched to the limit.
"How are the officials?" he asked Chen Xuanqing.
To the north of the Meridian Gate was the Fengtian Hall, and to the south was the government office area. However, at this moment, the gates of the government office area were closed. Gao Zhan ordered the guards to guard the palace gates and not allow anyone to enter or leave. Prince Xin sent people to stay near the government office area. If Gao Zhan did not come out, they would not fight. The soldiers were very tired after the long march and took a nap under the city wall.
Chen Xuanqing didn't even glance at the government office area behind him, and said calmly,
"After the Crown Prince left the capital, the Gao family was impartial. As long as Your Highness wins over the Princess, Gao Zhan will naturally stand on your side."
"As for those neutral courtiers, it's even simpler. They were loyal to Your Majesty in the past, and will be loyal to the new monarch in the future."
Prince Xin understood that many of the noble families in the court acted according to circumstances, and as long as he could capture the eldest princess, the court officials would surely surrender.
However, at this moment, Prince Xin discovered that some eunuchs appeared at the wall of Fengtian Palace. It turned out that the palace walls were not impenetrable. The eldest princess wanted to monopolize power and excluded the eunuch Liu, the seal holder of the Imperial Household Department. Eunuch Liu then secretly instructed a group of eunuchs to attack the west corner gate of Fengtian Palace. The defense line of Fengtian Palace was soon torn open, and Prince Xin's soldiers poured in like a tide.
Just when Prince Xin's morale was boosted and he thought he could take the imperial city in one go, a deafening sound of horse hooves rushed into the capital from the South Gate. The leader, dressed in silver iron armor, leaped to the Zhengyang Gate on horseback.
The deputy general of Prince Xin who was stationed outside Zhengyang Gate heard the sound of horse hooves and looked up, only to see thousands of war horses charging towards them, making a deafening sound. The man leading the group had a look of collapsed jade mountain, his brows were as cold as a scabbard, and when his eyes looked over, it was like a sharp sword that pierced into people's hearts with great momentum.
The deputy general shuddered and immediately jumped up and sent someone to deliver the letter while summoning soldiers to respond. Unfortunately, the armored troops on the opposite side poured in from all directions and quickly engulfed them. At the same time, the gate of the government office area was wide open, and Gao Zhan personally led a team of troops to charge out, and together with Wang Shuhuai, they quickly killed King Xin's deputy general.
The head fell to the ground, Gao Zhan drove quickly to Wang Shuhuai,
"Minister Wang, Prince Xin has already invaded the imperial city. All officials are shocked, and half of them want to follow Prince Xin into the palace to defend the king."
Wang Shuhuai sat high on his horse, his expression stern and solemn, his eyes fixed on the direction of the palace, and said in a calm voice,
"Take 5,000 elite soldiers to rescue the women outside the city, and leave this to me!"
"good!"
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